Page 13 of Big Package

Her reply came almost immediately.

JANICE: Good. Stay put. At Cole’s.

I turned the phone facedown.

Cole glanced at it. “She checking on you?”

“She’s making sure I don’t do anything stupid.”

“Smart woman.”

I pointed my spoon at him. “You two are becoming entirely too agreeable.”

I looked around the kitchen while he went back to his chili. The house was warm and comfortable, but there wasn’t much that told me anything about the man who lived there.

“You know, everybody in town knows who you are, but nobody seems to know much about you.”

Cole looked up. “They know enough.”

“You live alone in the woods, keep to yourself, and spend your days telling people where to put heavy things.”

“That’s the job.”

“Exactly. You don’t give people much else to work with.”

He took another bite of chili.

I smiled. “See? This is why people think you’re grumpy.”

“They’re not wrong.”

For a few minutes, the only sounds in the kitchen were our spoons against the bowls and the ice striking the windows. The power flickered once, then twice. Everything went dark. The refrigerator stopped humming, and the sudden quiet made the weather outside seem louder.

“Well,” I said, setting down my spoon. “This isn’t good.”

A drawer opened somewhere near Cole. Within seconds, a flashlight clicked on.

I expected more from a man who lived this far from town. “Please tell me your entire emergency plan doesn’t rely on a single flashlight.”

“Nah. I’ve got a generator.”

Thank goodness. I pushed back from the table. “What can I do?”

“Nothing.” He started toward the mudroom.

I followed. “Cole.”

He stopped and looked back.

“I’m not sitting in your kitchen while you handle everything.”

“It’ll take five minutes.”

“It could take four if I help.”

His gaze dropped to the sleeves of his sweatshirt hanging over my hands, then returned to my face.

I crossed my arms, which was less effective while dressed like I’d raided his closet. “I’m helping.”